A variety of retractable awning assemblies that provide a shaded or sheltered area when in an extended position, but which can be retracted into a housing or case for storage are known in the art. While such awnings can be used in a wide variety of situations, they are particularly suitable and have become very popular for use with recreational vehicles and campers to provide a covered outdoor area that provides shelter from the sun and rain when the vehicle is parked at a campsite.
A particular consideration in the design of such awning assemblies for use on recreational vehicles is that the housing be compact and streamlined so as not to cause wind drag effects which can seriously effect the steerability and performance of the vehicle when it is being driven on the road. It is desirable that the housing contain all of the awning parts, including the awning itself, as well as any support arms and legs, so as to limit the amount of additional hardware on the exterior of the vehicle, which would further impair the aerodynamics of the vehicle and which could become loose during travel thereby posing a potential safety hazard. By keeping all exterior hardware within an aerodynamically designed exterior housing, operation of the vehicle is substantially more fuel efficient and safer.
Moreover, it is desirable that such an awning have a safety lock mechanism that prevents the awning box from inadvertently opening and the awning from unrolling and/or the other stored awning parts from falling out, when the awning assembly is in a stored position and particularly when the vehicle to which it is attached is being driven on the road. The inadvertent, untimely deployment of the awning or parts of the assembly at such a time would pose an extreme safety hazard.